Carter Roy

Betty was once Vicki's boss at a small cafe in Dayton.

Betty owned the place, Vicki waited tables, but now they're just good friends.

The two middle-aged women spent the evening playing bingo, along with Vicki's seven-year-old grandson, Colby.

Vicki and her husband, Ernest, won custody of Colby a few years back, so she's more like a mother to him than anything.

It's a cold and cloudy night.

Betty is behind the wheel.

Vicki rides shotgun, and Colby sits quietly in the back.

Nothing unusual happens until they reach an uninhabited stretch of the highway about 15 miles northwest of Dayton.

That's when they notice a bright light above the treetops ahead.

And after they round a corner, they find the source.

A giant, diamond-shaped object flying above the road.

It's a dull, metallic gray, as tall as a water tower, and blindingly bright, with flames shooting out the bottom.

Vicki screams at Betty to stop the car.

They come to a halt about 100 feet away from the object, and everyone jumps out of the vehicle.

The first thing they notice is the heat.

It's excruciating.

It feels like they're burning up, and the air smells like a lighter fluid.

Colby is terrified, so Vicky tries to calm him down.

She's a God-fearing woman, so she explains the blinding light the only way she knows how.

She tells him not to be afraid.